Entertainment

Cops Bust Woman for Hitting Cyclist After She Brags on Twitter

Here's a lesson in what not to do online, straight from the Twitter for Dummies handbook.

Our story begins on Sunday in Norwich, England, where an organized cycling event called the Boudicca Sportive took place. Tensions between cyclists and automobile drivers are well documented the world over, but this Sunday tweet from a local driver using the Twitter handle @EmmaWay20 took things to a new level:

Way probably thought her friends would get a good laugh out of how she put that road-hogging cyclist in his place — but she couldn't possibly have expected this Twitter response from the Norwich police:

@emmaway20 we have had tweets ref an RTC with a bike. We suggest you report it at a police station ASAP if not done already & then dm us

It seems some concerned Twitter citizens alerted the police to Way's tweet after coming across it online.

But was Way — whose own Twitter account has since been deleted — just joking, or did she actually hit someone? Cyclist Toby Hockley tells the BBC that he was, in fact, flung from his ride after being hit by a car while taking part in Sunday's Boudicca Sportive event.

"She came on to my side of the road, I took the wing mirror off and I went flying off my bike into a hedge," Hockley says. "She hit me hard — really hard. I am lucky to be alive."

But there's more: Hockley says he was initially going to keep quiet about the accident for fear of worrying his girlfriend — that is, until finding out about Way's Twitter post.

Police continue to investigate, and the accounting firm Larking Gowen, where Way is believed to be employed, reportedly released the following statement:

Please be assured that this is not a view held by the firm and we most certainly do not condone this behaviour. We are taking the incidents very seriously, and a full and detailed investigation will be carried out and appropriate action taken. We have already spoken to Norfolk Police.

How does this rank among the biggest Twitter fails you've seen? Let us know in the comments.

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